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WRT your general points--the last paragraph of Dizzy's last post--you're 100% correct. This is where the city needs to stand up and define the citywide goals and objectives in this planning context. The neighbors can and should define theirs. And the University defines too. But the goals and objectives of the U/Citywide aren't likely to always be congruent with the neighbors. Consensus shouldn't be expected. And the neighbors shouldn't expect to have a kind of veto power over everything.</>

I think that's the key that I was trying to get at in the latter part of my post, that the city has not defined its goals for the roles that universities should play in a 21st-century DC. When Mayor Gray was first elected, he talked about the potential important role of local colleges and universities in helping to lift the economic conditions of the district, even going so far as to say he would explore whether enrollment caps should exist at all. Last month, however, he came to the ANC2E meeting saying he "stands with the neighbors," (and implying against the university, as the main focus was the campus plan), without really addressing that vision of where higher ed fits into DC's goals.

The campus plan process as currently structured, does not seem to be the place to have that conversation, as many of the arguments are built on ossified resentments and traditional town-gown tensions. But opportunities such as the zoning rewrite, or other larger Office of Planning efforts, could provide a good forum to bring all interested parties (including business, education and community leaders, neighbors, parents of younger children, and NGOs supported by universities) to have those important conversations.

by Jacques on Nov 18, 2011 9:03 am • link • report